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This guide is designed to help first-time users of the Tool Soup science inquiry suite.

We made Tool Soup to help you answer questions about your environment. Right now, Tool Soup allows you to collect data about pollution and weather factors within the state of Michigan. You can always add your own data to your projects, and as Tool Soup grows, it will probably include new places and data types.

While Tool Soup doesn't have any particular order in which you should use the tools, we'll talk about them in order of the way they appear on the main screen (after you click Go! on the Splash Screen)

DataWarehouse
is the first tool on the Tool Soup list. It allows you to collect data about your questions, and see what data is available to help you choose and refine your question as you go along. DataWarehouse asks for data from our repository on the internet, so a network connection is important if you want to use any data you don't already have. Once you've collected data from the warehouse, it'll be stored on your computer.

Vizit
allows you to continue the work you started in DataWarehouse. Now that you've collected data, you need to be able to analyze this data, and a good way to do that is build some visual representations of the data. Vizit allows you to graph data you've collected, which will assist in the correllation of data you've collected.

TheoryBuilder
gives you the power to test your understand of the system you've been exploring. As you've explored and analyzed data, you've hopefully formed an understanding of how factors in the environment affect each other. TheoryBuilder allows you to take this understanding and build a model which you test and compare to the world you've explored.

NetEdit
is a utility provided for free by Divya, Incorporated. Although it is not a process-scaffolded tool like the other elements of Tool Soup, it has been included in order to allow learners to reflect upon and publish their results.

The set of steps in data collection, connected by arrows is called a Process Map; as you use the DataWarehouse, you'll select steps from this map to launch parts of the tool.

1. First, click the Select Type button. You can choose from three different data collection types. You can collect Air Pollution data, Water data, Weather data or you can enter your own data. The Screen below should appear first. This is the Pollution Data screen. To switch between screens, use the labeled tabs at the top of the window. To choose Weather click on the word Weather, to choose Water click on the word Water and to add your own data click Manual.
   
   
• Select the Pollutant you want by clicking on the button next to the pollutant's name
• Choose the "selection mode" on the map by clicking on the Stn button along the upper- righthand edge of the map.
• Select a Site by clicking on a site's name on the map; the name of the station should appear in the box labeled Selected Site, and a range of available dates should appear on the timeline labeled Available Data by Time.
• When you've selected the station you want, click Done button at the bottom of the window.

NOTE: if you want to get a closer look at an area on the map, just choose the In button (above the Stn button in the upper-righthand corner of the map) and click on the place you want to zoom in on. To move around a zoomed map, use the buttons labeled North,South,East and West. To zoom back out, choose the Out button (below the In button), and click on the map.


If you want to collect Weather Data, click on the Weather Tab. The screen below should appear:



• You can select factors from Averages, Totals and Other data by clicking the button next to the type of data you want to collect.
• Choose the selection mode on the map with the Stn button (as above in the Pollution selection).
• Choose the station to collect data from by clicking it's name on the map; it's name should appear in the box labeled Selected Site.
• When you've selected the correct station, click the Done button.

If you want to add in your own data, select the Manual tab; the screen below will appear:



• Type in a description of your data in the Data Description box.
• Type in the units in which your data is measured in the Units box.
• Choose point mode for the map by clicking on the Pt button in the upper-righthand corner of the map.
• Set the latitude and longitude for your point by clicking on the map. The longitude and latitude of the point you have selected should appear in the Longitude and Latitude boxes.
• Type in the name of your site in the Selected Site box.
• Click the Done button.

NOTE: In order to better pinpoint your location for manual data entry, try zooming in and out of the map (as described above) and switching tabs between other types of data; this will give you a chance to see there the point you've selected is with relation to stations already in the database.


If you want to collect Water Data, click on the Water Tab; the following screen should appear:



• Select the factor you want from the Physical Data and Chemical Data choices by clicking the boxes next to the name of your desired data type.
• Choose the "selection mode" on the map by clicking on the Stn button.
• Select a Site by clicking on a site's call number on the map; the number of the station should appear in the box labeled Selected Site, and a range of available dates should appear on the timeline. Certain regions of the map may be shaded and labeled Too Much Data: Zoom In. In this case, zooming in will give the map enough room to show all the station in this region.
• When you've selected the station you want, click Done button at the bottom of the window.
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3. After completing the type selection phase, click on Select Scale. The screen below should appear.
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   • Pull down the box showing Months and select whether you want to collect your data in Months or Days.
   • Pull down the box showing Average (if available after your first selection) to select whether you want to collect the data Average, Maximun or Minimum.
   • When you've completed your selection, click the Done button.

   
   
   

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5. Next, Click the Select Range Button from the main DataWarehouse process map. The screen below should appear.
   
   
• Pull down the Day (if applicable), Month and Year menus under the Start Date and End Date labels to choose the day, month and year at which you wish to start and stop collecting data.
• Click the Done button at the bottom of the window when you're satisfied with your selection.
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7. Finally, click the Confirm Choices button. The window shown below should appear:
   
   
   
   
• Read the sentence at the top of the box for correctness.
• To change the name the data you collect will have in the spreadsheet, change the contents of the box labeled You may change your variable name in the box below.
• If the information in all of the white text boxes is not correct click No, I need to make a change. Go back to steps 1 through 4 and correct your parameters.
• If the information in the white text boxes is correct click Yes, This is what I want. A progress dialog may appear as shown below (depending on your system type). Please be patient and wait until the bar reaches 100% and disappears.
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9. When the above screen is done You will see a spreadsheet appear with your information. It should look similar to the screen below:
   
   
   
   
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11. You can start the data collection process all over again by clicking on Start a new spreadsheet. This deletes all of your currently collected data.
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13. You can save your spreadsheet by clicking on Save this spreadsheet. You should then see the screen below:
    
    
• When this box appears, enter a name for you spreadsheet in the space provided.
• Click the Save button.

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Vizit is the data visualization tool which allows you to analyze data you've obtained from the DataWarehouse. To create a graph, you should follow the process map. To use the process map, you click on the node representing the task you'd like to accomplish. The next node is pointed to by a gold arrow. To start working, click on the "Select Dataset" node.

1. Click Select Data Set node. The screen below should appear.
   
   
   

   On this screen your goal is to find the data you wish to graph. To do that:

   1. Choose the spreadsheet: There will be a label: "Available Spreadsheets", and below this you will find a pull-down menu. Click on the menu and choose the spreadsheet you wish to work with. As you select a spread sheet, it will show up in a box below.
   2. Choose the rows: If you want to graph all the rows in the spreadsheet, simply click on the "Done" button. But if you only want to graph particular rows, select those rows by clicking on the row label for each row. The row should turn red when it is clicked. You can deselect a row by clicking again.
   3. If you haven't already done so, click on the "Done" button.

   You will be returned to the process map window. Click on the Select Graph Type node. The screen below should appear:

   

   In the Choose Graph Type window your goal is to choose the type of graph most appropriate to your investigation. To do this:

   1. Click on the Graph that you want (Line Plot or Pie Chart for example)
   2. Read the graph description in the left side of the window. Decide if the graph is appropriate for your data, if not, choose another.
   3. When you've selected the one you want, click the "This is what I want" button.
      

   
   

2. Again, you'll return to the process map. Next, click Select Graph Format. In the next screen, pictured below, you will need to decide how you want your data to be displayed. Different types of graphs require different formating:

Bar Graphs

• To format a Bar Chart, you need to choose the orientation of the bars.
• Choose Horizontal if you want the bars to go from left to right.
• Choose Vertical if you want bars to go from the bottom up.

X-Y Plots: Scatter Plots and Line Plots

• To format an X-Y plot, you choose with which axises your measurements will be should be associated.
• Click on the X-axis tab and choose which data set(s) or Time you want as your x-axis. To select a choice just click on your choice and a white highlight should appear. You can select multiple data sets, and you can deselect a data set by clicking on it again.
• Click on the Y-axis tab and choose which data you want as your y-axis.
• When you are done, click "This is what I want."

Pie Charts and Box Plots

• No special formatting is needed for pie chars and box plots



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4. The last step in building a graph is review. Click on Confirm Choice node to see this last screen:
   

   

   1. Read throught the Confirm dialog to see if everything you wanted to graph is described in the box.
   2. If you wish to changed the axis labels for your graph, you may click in the box and edit the label name.
   3. If you want to be able to view extra data on the graph about each data point, check the additional information checkbox. This information can be useful when examining the graph.
   4. Once you are satisfied, Click "Everything is OK". If not, click "I need to make a change" and go back throught the process map to make changes.

   
   
   

5. After confirming your choices, Vizit will build your graph. If your dataset is large this may take a while. A progress bar will pop up and give you an idea of how much data Vizit has graphed, and how much is left.
   
   
6. When Vizit is done, this window will pop up:
   

   

   
   
   

7. Click the button labeled, "Press Here to Continue"
   
   
8. Your graph will appear:
   

   

   To explore your graph, you may do any of the following:

   • Resize: To resize, drag the window containing the graph, the graph will grow or shrink with the window.
   • Zoom In: To zoom in on a section of the graph, draw a rectangle around the area to magnify by moving the pointer to one corner of the area, pressing and holding the mouse button, and dragging the pointer to the opposite corner of the area. When you let go of the mouse button, the graph will zoom in.
   • Zoom Out:
     • On Windows and Unix, click the right mouse button.
     • On MacOS, press the control key and click the mouse button.
   • Examine data points: If you checked the "additional information" checkbox, you can examine individual datapoints by moving the pointer over that data point and pausing. A yellow box will pop up and show more information.

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1. Click on New Object. The screen below should appear
   
   
   
   

• Click on Select Image and choose a background for your model
• Click on the new object box and enter a name for what you are modeling. For example let's say you were making a model of your grades. Enter homework next to Name:
• Click OK
• Redo step 1 and enter Exams in the name field. Your screen the name field. Your screen should look like the image below.
  
  
  
  

2. Click on New Factor. The screen below should appear
   
   

• Name the factor Final Exam
• Change the view from text to number
• Make initial value 100
• Make the units %
• Redo the previous step and name it Final Grade
  
  

3. Click on Build. The screen below appears
   
   
   
   

• Click on the Relationship button.
• Now click on the factor that you want to affect the other factors. For example say homework scores affect your final grade. A blue box should appear around Homework that says casual factor and a red box should appear around Final Grade. The screen below should appear
  
  
  
  
• Choose what affect you think each object has on each factor. For example choose whether your Homework Grade increase/decrease/or keep your Final Grade the same. Your screen should now look like this
  
  
  
  

4. Click Test to evaluate your relationships. The screen below should appear.
   
   
   
   

• To see and manipulate individual factors, click the Meter Tool button and them click on the factors you wish to deal with. If the factor is an independent variable, a slider will appear that will allow you to change the value of the factor. If the factor is instead a dependent variable, a bar will appear showing the value of this factor.
• To watch all of the factors in one area, click the Graph button. A graph window will appear, and on the left side is a key in which you need to assign factors to colors.
  
• Once you have done either of these, click the Play button and then manipulate your system with the independent variable controls.
  

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NetEdit is a text-editing program; type your documents in the provided space.

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• If you want to read or write documents to the web, enter the URL (universal resrouce locator) in this space.
• the New button creates a fresh document to work in.
• the Open button allows you to open a previously saved document.
• the Save button allows you to save the current document.
• the Read from URL and Write to URL work just like the Open and Save buttons (respectively), but allow you to publish your work directly to a website instead of your local computer.
• the Exit button allows you to leave NetEdit.

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Tool Soup Home Page | Educational Impact | How does the Technology Work?
Project Team Members | Tutorial | Use Tool Soup Now!

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